The new AP poll has Kentucky 9th, Alabama 10th and Tennessee 16th. The scoreboard says the exact opposite: Alabama beat Kentucky 45-17 in Lexington on Sept. 12, and Tennessee beat Alabama 26-10 on Oct. 17.

I’ll own my part first. Our own Top 10 on Sunday had Kentucky 8th and Alabama out entirely. So I’m not lecturing anybody from a high horse here. I’m on the same horse.

The case for the voters: records. Kentucky is 7-1, and its only loss is to Alabama. Alabama and Tennessee are both 6-2. Bama’s losses are to Georgia (20-17) and Tennessee. Tennessee lost to Texas (20-17) and then dropped a 27-24 game at South Carolina on Saturday while Alabama was beating Texas A&M 31-20. Recency matters to voters, and that week hurt.

The case for head-to-head: the games already happened. Alabama didn’t squeak by Kentucky. It won by 28. Tennessee didn’t squeak by Alabama. It won by 16.

Our verdict: Kentucky over both of them at 7-1, fine. I can live with that. But when two teams have the same record, head-to-head should settle it every single time. Tennessee belongs ahead of Alabama, not six spots behind. Putting Bama there is ranking the helmet, not the result.

The good news is that the field settles the rest. Kentucky plays at Neyland Stadium on Nov. 7. Win that, and the Vols can make this whole argument for us.

So, Faders: record or head-to-head? Tell us on X @fiveandafade or on Instagram.

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Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.